


Till There Was You

by waywardwriter



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-28
Updated: 2017-08-28
Packaged: 2018-12-21 02:12:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11934159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waywardwriter/pseuds/waywardwriter
Summary: Laurent is a freshman moving into his dorm at university. Auguste, ever the doting older brother, is there to help.Then they meet Laurent's roommate.





	Till There Was You

“I think that’s the last of them.”

Laurent had been taking inventory of the dorm room when he stopped and turned to the source of the sound. It was Auguste, walking into the room while carrying a large cardboard box. He placed it next to Laurent’s bed – and along side all the other boxes – and sat on the bare mattress. Laurent made a mental note to sanitize every surface with disinfectant. Who knew what had been here before.

“Yes, it is,” said Laurent, sitting next to his older brother. “Thank you for coming to help.”

Auguste grinned, slinging his arm over Laurent’s shoulder and reeling him into a bone-crushing hug. Laurent groaned, slightly annoyed, but let him. “My baby brother is starting his first year of university.” Auguste pretended to wipe away a tear. “I swear it was yesterday when you took your first steps and now look at you. You’re all grown up! Of course I have to be here.”

“You really didn’t,” said Laurent, ignoring the fact that Auguste had called him his ‘baby brother’ again. Laurent was eighteen years old, thank you very much, and was a legal _adult._ But despite how many times Laurent had told Auguste this very fact, it was fruitless. “Though I guess it’s nice to have a laborer around to carry all my things.”

Truth be told, if Auguste had not helped with the heavy lifting, it would have taken Laurent multiple, painstaking trips and probably a permanently injured back. It was Auguste, after all, who was the athletic one between the two of them. 

Auguste laughed and ruffled Laurent’s hair. “Just whistle and I’ll come running.”

The two of them spent the next thirty minutes cleaning and unpacking. Actually, it was more so _Auguste_ doing the unpacking and Laurent pointing to designated areas around the room for him to place it in. Laurent didn’t have too many things – only the necessities – and before he knew it, his section of the room was complete.

“Don’t you have a roommate?” Auguste asked, gesturing to the other half of the room, which was still vacant.

“I should,” said Laurent. He initially requested a single dorm room but the school called last week to announce that there had been a mistake in the system. They had no more single rooms available. Auguste convinced Laurent to accept the double instead. _So you can make friends_ , he told him. Laurent scoffed at the idea. He didn’t need friends. He only needed books. “But if he doesn’t show up, I won’t be complaining.”

Auguste checked his watch. “Maybe he’s running late. There was a lot of traffic when we got here.”

Laurent glanced at him. “Why do you care so much?”

Auguste, ever the dramatic one, placed a hand over his heart and gasped. “That roommate might end up being your first friend!” And then he laughed, “Or, you know, a jerk. If he is, I’ll size him up and threaten him to be nice to you.”

Laurent rolled his eyes. “I think I can handle threatening by myself.”

“Very true,” said Auguste. “But at least agree with me so I feel as if I have a purpose.”

“Alright,” said Laurent. “If he’s an asshole, I’ll put you on Skype and let you do whatever you want.” 

Auguste grinned. “Damn right you will. Now c’mon, let’s check out what’s around campus.” Auguste burst out of the dorm room and Laurent had no choice but to follow, a small smile on his face.

They roamed around and spent time checking out the bookstore, some nearby coffee shops, classrooms and of course, the library. By the time they made it back to Laurent’s dorm room, Laurent felt confident that he chose the right place for his education. He enjoyed the relaxed and laid-back atmosphere of the campus. Plus, there was a lot of greenery and the facilities were all newly renovated.

On the way back to the dorm, Auguste was telling an animated a story that involved a cheesecake, eyeliner, and conditioner. Laurent listened half-heartedly, not because he didn’t care, but because he heard the same exact story ten times before.

Laurent unlocked the door to his room. He stepped through the entryway and froze in shock.

Auguste, who was walking behind him, bumped into Laurent. Laurent stumbled into the room and gripped one of the walls so he did not topple over the stranger. The stranger who was currently topless in the middle of the room.

Laurent looked up and up and up until he made eye contact. And for the first time in Laurent’s life, his brain short-circuited. Warm brown eyes. Dark skin. Teeth whiter than snow. Tousled curls. A dimple on his left cheek.

And then Laurent’s eyes glanced down and widened at the strong athletic toned muscles covering his bicep, chest, and abs. His arm was easily three times as big as Laurent’s. Maybe more. The man was tall, so tall that Laurent had to tilt his head up.

Laurent stared at that dimple.

 _Oh no,_ Laurent thought rather meekly. _I’m fucked._

The stranger – Laurent’s _roommate_ – smiled and offered a hand. That smile could end wars. “I’m Damen,” he said. “You must be my roommate.”

Laurent didn’t dare take the hand. He was scared he wouldn’t let go of it. “You’re late,” said Laurent.

Despite how strong and tough Damen looked, his voice was soft and smooth. _Don’t panic,_ Laurent reassured himself as he tried not to stare for too long. _He might be attractive, but attractive people are usually the assholes._

 _“_ I’m sorry about that,” Damen rubbed the back of his neck and he had the nerve to genuinely look _apologetic_. “I just finished volunteering at the hospital and was getting ready to head to campus when I saw a cat stuck up a tree at the park nearby. There was no ladder so I had to climb and bring it back to the ground. Thankfully it had a name tag and phone number on the collar and I brought it back to its owner, who then offered to make me lunch.”

 _Nice and attractive_. Laurent looked up at the ceiling, feeling as if the universe was playing a joke on him. Because Damen was not real. He couldn’t be. 

“Hey Damen,” Auguste broke Laurent from his train of thought. To Laurent’s great embarrassment, Auguste was posturing. “I’m Auguste deVere. Laurent’s older brother.”

Damen smiled and took Auguste’s hand. They shook twice. “It’s nice to meet you.” And he looked at Laurent. Laurent wanted to melt into a puddle. “Both of you.”

“You don’t seem like a freshman,” said Auguste, eyes narrowing.

“Fourth year, actually,” said Damen. “I’m the don for this floor. Usually I have my own room but thought it would be interesting to try something a little different this year.” 

Auguste nodded his head thoughtfully. “Ah, I see. Then I’m sure my brother will be in good hands then, won’t he?” He said it with a wink in Laurent’s direction. If Damen were not here, Auguste would be a pile of ash.

“I’ll make sure of it,” Damen beamed.

 _You are truly, truly fucked,_ Laurent thought to himself. Surviving first year may be harder than he thought.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I realized that dons are not A Thing in all universities/colleges/post-secondary institutions. Another name for them is Residence Assistant!
> 
> For me, a university don is an upper-year student that's paid to act as an advisor and supervisor of students in a dorm/residence. Their role is basically to encourage everyone to socialize, plan activities for the floor to do (especially during frosh week!), help solve conflicts, and to make sure no one is breaking any rules etc. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this short ficlet! And to anyone starting as a freshman, good luck and have fun :)


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